Ball or roller fastening device

ABSTRACT

A fastening device for latching a door, an engine bonnet or a trunk of a vehicle including a striking plate having a rocking recess along its periphery defining a striking nose at the forward end and a casing formed with chamber for the reception of the striking plate and formed with a housing opening into the recess in fastening position of the device. A locking member is provided in the housing to normally protrude from the housing into the chamber to be received in the locking recess, and a rocking section is also provided in the housing, this sector resiliently biassing the locking member out of the housing into the chamber. A hooking nose is formed on the rocking sector forwardly of the locking member with respect to the inserting movement of the striking plate in the chamber and the hooking nose is spaced a distance from the locking member such as to hold therein the striking nose in inserting movement of the striking plate whereby to achieve a first or safety latching of the door, bonnet or trunk. The sector is mounted in the housing for resilient rocking about a pivot and biasing of the locking member into the chamber. The locking member is a roller and a resilient spiral connection is provided on which the roller is mounted and which limits the frictional engagement of the roller to differential rolling movement between the rocking sector and the striking nose.

United States Patent Boyriven [54] BALL OR ROLLER FASTENING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Paul Boyriven, Paris, France Compagnie Industrielle de Mechanismes, Courbeuoie, France 221 Filed: Oct. 23, 1970 211 Appl.No.: 83,372

[73] Assignee:

,[1s1 3,671,064 [451 June 20, 1972 Primary ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe Attorney-Raymond A. Robic [57]- ABSTRACT A fastening device for latching a door, an engine bonnet or a trunk'of a vehicle including a striking plate having a rocking recess along its periphery defining a striking nose at the forward end and a casing formed with chamber for the reception of the striking plate and formed with a housing opening into the recess in fastening position of the device. A locking member is provided in the housing to normally protrude from the housing into the chamber to be received in the locking recess, and a rocking section is also provided in the housing, this sector resiliently biassing the locking member out of the housing into the chamber. A hooking nose is formed on the rocking sector forwardly of the locking member with respect to the inserting movement of the striking plate in the chamber and the hooking nose is spaced a distance from the locking member such as to hold therein the striking nose in inserting movement of the striking plate whereby to achieve a first or safety latching of the door, bonnet or trunk.

The sector is mounted in the housing for resilient rocking about a pivot and biasing of the locking member into the chamber. The locking member is a roller and a resilient spiral connection is provided on which the roller is mounted and which limits the frictional engagement of the roller to differential rolling movement between the rocking sector and the striking nose.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEnJunzo I972 yum/17 lbui u INVENTOR Paul BOY RNEN ATTORNEY BALL OR ROLLER FASTENING DEVICE The present invention relates to new improvements in fastening devices such as those described and claimed in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,473,835, granted on Oct. 21, 1969 and my U.S. application no. 815,071, filed on Apr. 10, 1969 and now US. Pat. No. 3,437,741.

The present invention provides a fastening device characterized in that, on the one hand, the rocking sector is now suitable for playing the supplementary role of a bolt, or at least of a transitory hooking tooth engaging with the striking plate,

in the position of incomplete closure of the door, called the safety position, while complete closure is still ensured by the engagement of a ball or roller in a recess in the striking plate which has now need only have a single recess, and in that, on the other hand, the possible movements of the ball or roller are limited by a resilient connection preferably provided between a pivot at the center of the latter and the pivot of the rocking sector.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of an embodiment of the fastening device in accordance with the present invention, with its striking plate in the final closure position, a cover plate and the striking plate of the device being indicated in dot dash lines;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the striking plate in an intermediate fastening position, or socalled safety" position; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly, taken along.

the line A--A of FIG. 2.

The illustrated fastening device comprises a casing 70 moulded of a plastics material, slightly elastic in itself, such as that commercially available under the Trade Mark DELRIN, incorporating a flexible tongue 71 backed by a cylindrical block 72 of rubber which is accommodated in a respective recess in the casing 70 and which stresses the tongue 71 to engage the flange 73 of a backing plate 78 of a striking plate 76, thereby to form a simplified antivibration device, after the nature ofa door wedge.

The casing 70 incorporates thickened portions or bosses, including thickened portions or bosses 74 and 75 whose rounded edges facilitate the entry and centering of the striking plate 76 which is of simplified form by virtue of the fact that it comprises only a single fastening recess 77.

The striking-plate 76, which is spaced from its backing plate 78 by cross members of spacers 79, is fixed in conventional manner on door pillar or post 80, by screws 81 engaging in an anchor-plate 82, whilst the lock casing 70 is fixed at the edge of the door in conventional manner.

This casing 70 comprises furthermore a recess providing for the housing of and the centering of a rocking sector 83 having a hooking nose 84, as well as a curved helical return spring 85, while an opening 86 joining such recess accommodates a tenon 87 formed integrally with the sector 83 and limits the possible movement thereof.

Finally the movement available to a roller 88, which forms a bolt of the device, is limited by being connected in such a way that it can rotate about pivot 89 at the outer end of an elastic element in the form of a spiral spring 90 which terminates at its inner end in a socket 91, which is accommodated as a bush between the pivot hole of the rocking sector 83 and the corresponding pivot stud 92 rivetted to a plate 93 which forms a cover plate of the fastening device.

The elastic spiral spring 90 may advantageously and economically be produced by moulding from a resilient plastics material, such as DELRIN, whereby one obtains the spring 90 together with the pivot 89 and the socket 91 in a single operation. without any machining.

It is easy to understand that with the fastening device structure as described, if the door, and therefore the casing 70 and its associated components, is drawn towards the frame which carries the striking plate 76, the nose of the latter will,

thanks to the rounded edges thereof, enter between and be centered between the bosses 74 and 75 of the lock casing. Be-

fore it reaches the roller 88, the nose of the striking plate 76 encounters the hooking nose 84 of the rocking sector 83 which initially is caused to swing in an anticlockwise direction against the action of the spring 85. With continued entry of the striking plate 76 into the casing 70, the nose of the striking plate passes the apex of the hooking nose 84, whereupon the rocking sector 83 swings back under the action of its spring 85 to achieve a first latching or so-called safety latching of the striking plate 76, as is shown in FIG. 2.

Upon continuing closure movement of the door, the nose of the striking plate 76 encounters the roller 88 which, in its turn, is raised, whilst rotating about its pivot 89 and rolling'on the surface of the striking plate so as to reduce the friction therewith, against the bias of the spiral spring 90 until it rides over the nose of the striking plate and drops down behind such nose to realize the complete closure, as is shown by FIG. 1.

In this final position, the roller 88 ensures a very effective locking action occurring between the rocking sector 83 and the cavity 77 of the striking plate, by virtue of the divergence of the directions of the reactions of the roller 88 on the one hand against the sector 83 and on the other hand against the recess. Release of the roller 88 to permit opening of the door, is easy and very smooth, by reason of differential rotation of the roller 88 about its pivot 89 between the surfaces in contact therewith and is achieved by a simple pivoting movement of the sector 83, applied in any suitable manner by way of its acv tuating tenon 87, e.g. by way of a handle or push button.

I claim:

l. A fastening device for latching a door, an engine bonnet or a trunk of a vehicle, said device including a striking plate having a locking recess along the periphery thereof, said recess defining a striking nose at the forward end of said striking plate, a casing formed with a chamber for the reception of said striking plate and formed with a housing opening into said recess in fastening position of said device, a locking member in said housing normally protruding from said housing into said chamber to be received in said locking recess, and a rocking sector in said housing having means thereon to resiliently bias said locking member and urge it out of said housing into said chamber, the improvement therewith comprising:

a hooking nose formed on said rocking sectorforwardly of said locking member with respect to the inserting movement of said striking plate in said chamber;

said hooking nose being spaced a distance from said locking member such as to hold therein said striking nose in inserting movement of said striking plate whereby to achieve a first or safety latching of said door, bonnet or trunk;

wherein said sector is mounted in said housing for resilient rocking about a pivot and biasing of said locking member into said chamber, and i wherein said locking member is a roller and there is 'a resilient spiral connection on which said roller is mounted and which limits the frictional engagement of said roller to differential rolling movement between said rocking sector and said striking nose.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resilient spiral connection is moulded as a single piece out of slightly resilient material and comprises pivot means at one end for said roller and a socket at the other end accommodated between said pivot and the pivoting hole of said rocking sector. v

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient spiral connection is mounted at one end on said pivot and said roller is mounted at the other end thereof. 

1. A fastening device for latching a door, an engine bonnet or a trunk of a vehicle, said device including a striking plate having a locking recess along the periphery thereof, said recess defining a striking nose at the forward end oF said striking plate, a casing formed with a chamber for the reception of said striking plate and formed with a housing opening into said recess in fastening position of said device, a locking member in said housing normally protruding from said housing into said chamber to be received in said locking recess, and a rocking sector in said housing having means thereon to resiliently bias said locking member and urge it out of said housing into said chamber, the improvement therewith comprising: a hooking nose formed on said rocking sector forwardly of said locking member with respect to the inserting movement of said striking plate in said chamber; said hooking nose being spaced a distance from said locking member such as to hold therein said striking nose in inserting movement of said striking plate whereby to achieve a first or safety latching of said door, bonnet or trunk; wherein said sector is mounted in said housing for resilient rocking about a pivot and biasing of said locking member into said chamber, and wherein said locking member is a roller and there is a resilient spiral connection on which said roller is mounted and which limits the frictional engagement of said roller to differential rolling movement between said rocking sector and said striking nose.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resilient spiral connection is moulded as a single piece out of slightly resilient material and comprises pivot means at one end for said roller and a socket at the other end accommodated between said pivot and the pivoting hole of said rocking sector.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient spiral connection is mounted at one end on said pivot and said roller is mounted at the other end thereof. 